Viscous liquid dietary supplement for animals

ABSTRACT

Fish oil ( 100, 310, 410 ) is thickened using a thickening agent ( 300 ), such as one or both of silica and wax ( 400, 500 ) dispersed in the fish oil to thereby facilitate ease of delivery of the fish oil to an animal. The fish oil and the thickening agent form a viscous liquid blend that functions as a delivery medium of nutrients naturally present in the fish oil. The thickening agent is inert to the animal and chemically inert to the fish oil so that the naturally present nutrients of the fish oil are not substantially degraded by the thickening agent. The viscous liquid blend may also be used as a carrier liquid to deliver an added dietary supplement ( 110, 200, 320, 420, 510 ) to the animal.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/164,783, filed Mar. 30, 2009, and U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/286,236, filed Dec. 14, 2009.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to a liquid dietary supplement for animals and,more particularly, to thickened fish oil as a delivering medium foreither one or both of nutrients and additional dietary supplements addedto the fish oil.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Fish oil confers many health benefits upon animals. For example, fishoil contains relatively high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and otheressential fatty acids that are normally not produced by an animal andinstead must be ingested by the animal as part of a healthy diet.Although fish oil confers health benefits to animals, consumeracceptance of fish oil products may be adversely impacted by theoffensive smell of fish oil to certain human beings. In addition, fishoil generally has at ambient temperature a very low viscosity, such asabout 30-60 centipoise (cP), and may be messy to dispense by pumping,pouring, and squeezing due to the thin and runny nature of the fish oil.

Moreover, dietary supplements, such as glucosamine, chondroitin,methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), probiotics, prebiotics, and digestiveenzymes, when ingested by an animal help to improve its health.Traditionally, dietary supplements for animals have been packaged andstored in a dry powdered form to prevent moisture from activating thesupplement. The dry powder may be delivered in pill form to the animalor mixed into its food. For example, PBI/Gordon Corporation of KansasCity, Mo. sells a dietary supplement, ProZyme®, which includes thedigestive enzyme alpha-amylase 2000 SKBU. ProZyme® is sold in a powderedform, which may have one or both of offensive smell and taste to theanimal. Thus, ProZyme® may be difficult to deliver to the animal, evenif the dietary supplement is mixed with the animal's food. Further,pills are challenging to deliver to animals, particularly if an animalhas previously ingested a foul tasting or smelling pill.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,318,920 of Christensen describes using a soft chewabletreat to deliver probiotics to an animal. However, the soft chewabletreat has a water activity of about 0.60 to about 0.75, which cannegatively impact the shelf life of the treat because activatedprobiotics may undesirably multiply in presence of moisture. Inaddition, the soft chewable treat may have one or both of offensivesmell and taste to the animal, particularly if the probiotic hasmultiplied to undesirable levels due to the presence of moisture.Further, the soft chewable treat includes additional ingredients, suchas starch, sugar, humectant, and a bulking agent. Thus, the treat may beof limited commercial viability due to the increased processing time andproduction costs.

Thus, the present inventor has recognized a need for improved systemsand methods for delivering fish oil and dietary supplements to animals.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In accordance with an embodiment, fish oil is thickened using athickening agent, such as silica, wax, or a combination of both of them,dispersed in the fish oil to facilitate ease of delivery of the fish oilto an animal. The fish oil and the thickening agent form a viscousliquid blend that functions as a delivery medium of nutrients naturallypresent in the fish oil. The thickening agent is inert to the animal andchemically inert to the fish oil so that the naturally present nutrientsof the fish oil are not substantially degraded by the thickening agent.The viscous liquid blend may also be used as a carrier liquid to deliveran additional dietary supplement, such as a bacillus subtilis probioticor an alpha-amylase digestive enzyme, to the animal. The thickeningagent is also chemically inert to the additional dietary supplement.

Skilled persons will appreciate in view of the teachings herein, certainembodiments may be capable of achieving certain advantages, including byway of example and not limitation one or more of the following: (1)providing a palatable supplement mixture that is deliverable in a liquidform to an animal; (2) providing a system and method for at least partlyencapsulating a dietary supplement to mask from an animal one or both ofoffensive smell and taste of the dietary supplement; (3) providing asystem and method for at least partly encapsulating and protecting adietary supplement from activation by moisture; (4) providing a systemand method for enhancing an animal's ingestion of omega-3 fatty acidsand other essential fatty acids; (5) providing a system and method forincreasing the willingness of an animal to ingest dietary supplements;(6) providing a system and method for improving the health of an animal;(7) providing a system and method that allows an animal owner orcaregiver to more easily administer dietary supplements to an animal;(8) providing a system and method for increasing the viscosity of fishoil; (9) providing a system and method for improving the suspendibilityof dietary supplements added to fish oil; (10) providing a system andmethod for reducing the mess and difficulty of dispensing fish oil; (11)providing a fish oil and additional dietary supplement mixture that doesnot need to be remixed before dispensing; (12) providing a system andmethod for improving the consumer acceptance of delivering to animalsfish oil with or without additional dietary supplements incorporatedtherein; (13) providing a system and method that helps provideconsistent and accurate dosage of dietary supplements to animals; (14)providing a system and method for at least partly encapsulating one orboth of fish oil and additional dietary supplements to mask from humanbeings an otherwise offensive smell of the fish oil; and (15) providinga system and method for reducing oxidization of one or both of fish oiland additional dietary supplements. These and other advantages ofvarious embodiments will be apparent upon reading the following.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a dietary supplement added to andencapsulated by fish oil, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a container holding a mixture of fishoil and one or more additional dietary supplements that have settled tothe bottom of the container over time, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a container holding a mixture of fishoil, one or more added dietary supplements, and a thickening agent thathelps keep the added dietary supplements suspended in the mixture,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a dietary supplement added to andencapsulated by fish oil that has been encapsulated by wax, according toone embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a dietary supplement encapsulated bywax, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are photographs showing a mixture of fish oil and silicaalong with a hand-operated pump system for dispensing the mixture,according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are photographs showing a mixture of fish oil and waxalong with a hand-operated pump system for dispensing the mixture,according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 1. Fish Oil as a Carrierfor Added Dietary Supplements

According to a preferred embodiment, fish oil is used as a carrierliquid to deliver health improving added dietary supplements to ananimal. Fish oil is particularly well suited to function as a supplementcarrier and delivery medium for several reasons. First, fish oilcontains extremely low levels of moisture and water and helps preventmoisture from reaching the added dietary supplement before it isingested by the animal. Thus, the fish oil helps ensure that the addeddietary supplement is not prematurely activated or oxidized by contactwith moisture. Next, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 1, fish oil100 at least partly encapsulates added dietary supplement 110 andthereby masks from the animal one or both of offensive smell and tasteof added dietary supplement 110. Thus, the fish oil helps increase thepalatability of added dietary supplement 110 to the animal. Further,upon ingestion, the fish oil itself may act as a dietary supplement thatenhances intake of omega-3 fatty acids and other essential fatty acids.As should be apparent, FIG. 1 is simply a schematic illustration andshould not be construed as illustrating how an actual cross-section of asupplement sample would appear.

The fish oil may be derived from a variety of fish, including, but notlimited to, salmon, cod, pollock, hake, mackerel, lake trout, herring,sardine, anchovies, and albacore tuna. The added dietary supplement maycomprise a commercially available dietary supplement. One class ofdietary supplements includes probiotics, which are live microorganismsthat beneficially affect the health of an animal when the probiotics areadministered in adequate amounts. For example, probiotics may improvethe microbial balance of naturally occurring bacteria in the colon ofthe animal to improve digestion. Another class of dietary supplementsincludes prebiotics, which are non-digestible food ingredients thatbeneficially affect the animal by selectively stimulating one or both ofgrowth and activity of certain naturally occurring bacteria in the colonof the animal to improve digestion. Yet another class of dietarysupplements includes digestive enzymes, which are bimolecular catalyststhat aid in the digestion of food by helping to breakdown proteins intoamino acids, fats into fatty acids, and starches into various sugars bylowering the activation energy needed for the respective chemicalreactions.

Still another class of dietary supplements includes joint rebuilding andjoint pain reducing dietary supplements, such as glucosamine,chondroitin, and MSM. Glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate arecomponents of normal cartilage and are the building blocks forproteoglycans and stimulate chondrocytes to make new collagen andproteoglycans. Because glucosamine and chondroitin dietary supplementsstimulate the production of new cartilage components, glucosaminesulfate and chondroitin sulfate dietary supplements may be able to helpthe body repair damaged cartilage. There is evidence that glucosamineand chondroitin can reduce pain from osteoarthritis, usually withinseveral weeks to several months after initiating therapy. MSM has shownbenefits for a range of health problems, including arthritis, musclepain, and joint pain. MSM has shown promise in the inhibition of painimpulses along nerve fibers, achieving analgesia, lesseninginflammation, increasing blood supply, reducing muscle spasms, andsoftening of scar tissue. Other classes of dietary supplements includeenzymes, minerals, and vitamins.

According to a preferred embodiment, a probiotic and a digestive enzymeare mixed with fish oil. The probiotic preferably comprises anunactivated bacillus subtilis bacterium that, when ingested by theanimal, exhibits probiotic activity. Suitable bacillus subtilisbacterium is available in powdered form from Kemin Industries, Inc. ofDes Moines, Iowa, under the product name Subactil™. The digestive enzymepreferably comprises an unactivated alpha-amylase enzyme that, wheningested by the animal, facilitates increased nutrient release. Suitablealpha-amylase enzymes are available in powdered form from Danisco ofCopenhagen, Denmark, under the product name Multifect AA 1200P AlphaAmylase. In one example, the dietary supplement mixture comprises about26% by weight of a probiotic and about 74% by weight of a digestiveenzyme.

A method of producing a fish oil and added dietary supplement mixturecomprises measuring a prescribed dose of one or more powdered dietarysupplement components, which may be soluble (e.g., oil soluble vitamins)or insoluble in fish oil, measuring a prescribed amount of fish oil, andcombining the powdered dietary supplement components and fish oil. Inone example, the added dietary supplement comprises about 1.5% to about22% by weight of the encapsulated supplement mixture, and the fish oilcomprises about 98.5% to about 78% by weight of the encapsulatedsupplement mixture. In another example, the added dietary supplementcomprises about 13% to about 14% by weight of the encapsulatedsupplement mixture and the fish oil comprises about 87% to about 86% byweight of the encapsulated supplement mixture. The fish oil andsupplement mixture may have a water activity of about 0.462 at ambienttemperature.

Table 1 specifies suitable amounts of added dietary supplements(probiotic, enzyme, and prebiotic) and fish oil according to threeexample digestive health preparations (e.g., high 100×, medium 50×, andlow 10×).

TABLE 1 % mg High 100X Probiotic 2.50% 100 (0.8 oz) Enzyme 2.50% 100(0.8 oz) Prebiotic 12.50%  500 (4 oz) Oil 82.50%  3300 (26.4 oz) Total 100% 4000 (32 oz) Medium 50X Probiotic 1.25% 50 (0.4 oz) Enzyme 1.25%50 (0.4 oz) Prebiotic 6.25% 250 (2 oz) Oil 91.25%  3650 (29.2 oz) Total 100% 4000 (32 oz) Low 10X Probiotic 0.25% 10 (0.08 oz) Enzyme 0.25% 10(0.08 oz) Prebiotic 1.25% 50 (0.4 oz) Oil 98.25%  3930 (31.44 oz) Total 100% 4000 (32 oz)

If more than one type of additional dietary supplement (e.g., aprobiotic, prebiotic, and digestive enzyme) is added to the fish oil,the various additional dietary supplements may be individually combinedwith the fish oil or may be first mixed together and then combined withthe fish oil. Optionally, the added dietary supplement(s) and fish oilmay be mixed using a mechanical mixer, such as a ribbon blender, V shellmixer, vertical planetary mixer, inline high shear mixer, or any othermixer or method that incorporates all the materials together.

After the additional dietary supplement components and fish oil havebeen combined, the fish oil and added dietary supplement mixture is thenintroduced into a container, such as a bottle, squeeze tube, or jar.Preferably, the container is sealed or sealable (e.g., with a cap) sothat the container holding the mixture therein may be shaken with littleor no leakage to mix or remix the fish oil and added dietary supplement.Any suitable container may be used. After the mixture is introduced intothe container, the container may then be passed through a filler line tobe capped, sealed, labeled, dated, and boxed for shipment to thecustomer. By way of another example, additional dietary supplements canbe premixed and added to a bottle, squeeze tube, or jar by a calibrateddosing system, such as a 4400tx-115v Rotary Shuttle Powder Filler systemavailable from Kinematics & Controls Corp, to deposit the additionaldietary supplements into the container before the fish oil is added.

Before feeding the mixture to the animal, the mixture is shaken,stirred, or otherwise mixed to more evenly distribute the added dietarysupplements within the fish oil. For example, if the container is sealedwith a cap, one or more added dietary supplements may be redistributedin the fish oil mixture by vigorously shaking the container, therebyallowing a more accurate dose of the added dietary supplements to bedelivered to the animal. After agitating, the mixture itself may then befed to the animal or may be mixed in its food.

The foregoing is further illustrated with regard to the followingnon-limiting example.

Example 1

The following example is based on a 32 oz (or 907,185 mg) samplepreparation. A Porta-Shell® laboratory blender with intensifier baravailable from Patterson Industries, LTD of Toronto, Ontario was used tomix about 513 mg of a bacillus subtilis probiotic dietary supplement,Subactil™, and about 1,429 mg of an alpha-amylase digestive enzymedietary supplement, Multifect AA 1200P Alpha Amylase. The probiotics anddigestive enzymes in dry powder form were mixed to form a well-dispersedprobiotic and digestive enzyme mixture. The probiotic and digestiveenzyme mixture was then introduced into a 4400tx-115v Rotary ShuttlePowder Filler system available from Kinematics & Controls Corporation ofBrooksville, Fla. The shuttle dosing machine measured a prescribedamount of the probiotic and digestive enzyme mixture and dropped theprescribed amount (1,942 mg) of the combined mixture into a dosagebottle. A series APD-6 Automatic Positive Displacement Filling Machineavailable from Accuteck Packaging Equipment of Vista, Calif. was thenused to fill the dosage bottle with about 905,242 mg of salmon oil. Thesalmon oil was prepared by Trident Seafoods of Seattle, Wash. in acommercial fish oil recovery system. The probiotic and digestive enzymemixture was delivered or dosed into dosage bottles, and the fish oil wasadded to finish the filling process. The water activity (a_(w)) of thefish oil with or without the additional dietary supplements averagedabout 0.25 to 0.375. The water activity (a_(w)) was tested using a WaterActivity Meter Series 3 system available from Aqua Lab of Pullman, Wash.

Two iterations of applying pumping force to a pump dispenser deliveringabout 2 ml for each pump iteration dispersed about 4 ml (0.8815 tsp) ofa probiotic, digestive enzyme, and fish oil mixture (two pump iterationsdelivered about 3,629 mg of total combined mixture and thus delivered2.05 mg of Subactil™, 5.72 mg of Alpha Amylase, and 3620 mg of salmonoil) onto a flat plate for testing against a control sample to determinewhether the probiotic, digestive enzyme, and fish oil mixture was moreeffective than the control sample for delivering dietary supplements tocanines. The probiotic, digestive enzyme, and fish oil mixture wasprepared as described in Example 1 and distributed the same day. Thecontrol sample comprised a mixture of about 2.05 mg of Subactil™probiotics and about 5.72 mg of Multifect AA 1200P Alpha Amylasedigestive enzymes placed in a dry powdered form on a flat plate of thesame type as that used for the probiotic, digestive enzyme, and fish oilmixture. The plate containing the probiotic, digestive enzyme, and fishoil mixture was placed next to the plate containing the probiotic anddigestive enzyme mixture in the dry powdered form, and each canine froma set of twenty-four canines was individually allowed to consume one orboth of the probiotic, digestive enzyme, and fish oil mixture and theprobiotic and digestive enzyme mixture in the dry powdered form. The setof twenty-four canines comprised a random sampling of canines from alocal pound and thus included canines of various breeds, ages, sex, andweights.

Twenty-one of the twenty-four canines completely consumed the probiotic,digestive enzyme, and fish oil mixture, while only six of thetwenty-four canines completely consumed the probiotic and digestiveenzyme mixture in the dry powdered form. The test results are summarizedin Table 2.

TABLE 2 Completely Consumed Not Consumed Fish Oil Mixture 21 3 DryPowdered Mixture 6 18

Thus, as can be concluded from the test results, using fish oil as acarrier to deliver added dietary supplements greatly improves thewillingness of an animal to consume the added dietary supplements andthe ease of which the added dietary supplements can be delivered to theanimal.

II. Thickening Fish Oil

Fish oil, with or without additional dietary supplements suspendedtherein, confers many health benefits upon animals due to the nutrientsnaturally present in fish oil. For example, fish oil contains relativelyhigh amounts of nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids and otheressential fatty acids, that are normally not produced by the animal andinstead must be ingested by the animal as part of a healthy diet. Inother words, fish oil itself is a dietary supplement. In addition, fishoil is particularly well suited to function as a carrier for additionaldietary supplements added to the fish oil and greatly improves thewillingness of an animal to consume the added dietary supplements asdiscussed above.

Although fish oil confers health benefits to animals, consumeracceptance of fish oil products may be adversely impacted by theoffensive smell of fish oil to certain human beings. In addition, fishoil generally has a very low viscosity at ambient temperature, such asabout 30-60 centipoise (cP), and tends to be messy to dispense bypumping, pouring, and squeezing due to the thin and runny nature of thefish oil. Further, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 2, added dietarysupplements 200, such as glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, probiotics,prebiotics, enzymes, digestive enzymes, minerals, vitamins, or anycombination thereof, that are suspended in a fish oil carrier 210 maysettle to the bottom of container 220 over time (e.g., a fish oil andadded dietary supplement mixture generally has a very low viscosity,such as about 53 cP). Thus, the added dietary supplements may need to bedispersed in or otherwise reintroduced into the mixture by vigorousshaking or mixing before delivering the mixture to the animal. Thisprocess may add to reduced consumer acceptance and potential inaccuratedosing of the added dietary supplements (e.g., different portions of thefish oil may have different concentrations of added dietarysupplements).

Thus, according to a preferred embodiment, a carrier liquid, includingfish oil with or without additional dietary supplements mixed therein,is thickened with a thickening agent, such as silica, wax, or acombination of both to create a viscous liquid blend. The thickeningagent imparts to the carrier liquid a viscosity that is greater than acarrier liquid viscosity (e.g., a fish oil viscosity) at ambienttemperature. According to one embodiment, the thickening agent is inertto animals and chemically inert to fish oil and any added dietarysupplements so that the naturally present nutrients of the fish oil andthe added dietary supplements are not substantially degraded when thethickening agent is dispersed in the carrier liquid. In one example, thethickening agent includes an amorphous finely divided silica such as aprecipitated silica, a fumed silica, or a combination of both. Moreover,the silica may be hydrophilic. Suitable types of precipitated silicainclude Sipernat® 22LS available from Evonik Industries ofHanau-Wolfgang, Germany. Suitable types of fumed silica include Aerosil®200 Pharma available from Evonik. Other brands and types of precipitatedand fumed silica may be used as the thickening agent.

According to another example, the thickening agent includes a natural orsynthetic wax. Suitable natural waxes that are inert to animals includeanimal waxes, such as beeswax, and vegetable waxes, such as soy wax. Onetype of suitable natural wax is the Calsoy brand soy wax available fromCalwax, LLC of Irwindale, Calif. Suitable synthetic waxes includepetroleum waxes, such as paraffin wax. Using wax as a thickening agentmay also create a more aesthetically pleasing and polished product. Forexample, thickened fish oil without wax may have a relatively dark browncolor. In contrast, when wax is used alone as the thickening agent or incombination with another thickening agent, the thickened fish oil has arelatively light color and a sheen to it. Moreover, wax may inhibitseparation of the fish oil and thickening agent. As previouslydescribed, the fish oil may be derived from a variety of fish,including, but not limited to, salmon, cod, pollock, hake, mackerel,lake trout, herring, sardine, anchovies, and albacore tuna.

Adding a thickening agent, such as silica or wax, to fish oil increasesits viscosity. The higher viscosity helps reduce dripping and runningand results in a much cleaner product, less mess, and better consumeracceptance in the marketplace. In addition, as schematically illustratedin FIG. 3, adding a thickening agent 300 to fish oil 310 helps keep oneor more added dietary supplements 320 suspended in fish oil 310 for alonger period of time and helps prevent added dietary supplements 320from settling to the bottom of a container 330 holding the liquid blend.Thus, adding a thickening agent to fish oil helps improve control andaccuracy when delivering added dietary supplements to an animal, thedispensability of the fish oil, the suspendibility of added dietarysupplements in the fish oil, and the deliverability of fish oil andadded dietary supplements to animals.

Moreover, adding certain thickening agents, such as waxes, to fish oilmay help to reduce oxidation of the fish oil (thereby increasingfreshness of the fish oil) and the offensive fish odor to human beingsand thereby helps increase consumer acceptance. For example, asschematically illustrated in FIG. 4, wax 400 may combine with and atleast partly encapsulate fish oil 410, which is itself at least partlyencapsulating added dietary supplement 420. By way of another example,as schematically illustrated in FIG. 5, wax 500 may directly combinewith and at least partly encapsulate added dietary supplement 510.

Various amounts of the thickening agent can be added to the fish oil toobtain a desired viscosity for the liquid blend. In one example, theliquid blend includes a relatively small amount of the thickening agentto achieve a viscosity similar to that of a thin liquid dish soap. Incontrast, the liquid blend may include a relatively large amount of thethickening agent to achieve a viscosity similar to that of a thickgrease. Other viscosities may be desired for the liquid blend such asthose corresponding to body lotions, hand creams, and gels. Preferably,the viscosity is selected to enable the liquid blend to be dispensed(e.g., pumped, squeezed) from a container using a fluid-displacementdispenser (described below) without the liquid blend causing a mess dueto undesired dripping of the liquid blend from the container.Preferably, the viscosity of the liquid blend allows it to be dispensedwithout substantially clogging the fluid-displacement dispenser. In oneexample, the viscosity of the liquid blend at ambient temperature (e.g.,19-25° C.) ranges from about 90-250,000 cP. In another example, theviscosity of the liquid blend at ambient temperature ranges from about100,000-250,000 cP. In another example, the viscosity of the liquidblend at ambient temperature ranges from about 150,000-210,000 cP.Specifically, the liquid blend may include an amount of thickening agentin a range from about 0.5-30% by weight of the liquid blend, preferablyfrom about 5-25% by weight.

Moreover, the thickening agent may be of a single type or may include acombination of two or more different thickening agents. In one example,silica alone is used as the thickening agent, and the amount of silicaused to thicken the fish oil is in a range from about 0.5-20% by weight,preferably from about 5-15% by weight. Additionally, the thickeningagent may include a single type of silica, such as a precipitatedsilica, or a combination of different types of silica, such as acombination of precipitated silica and fumed silica. In one example, theliquid blend includes a combination of precipitated silica and fumedsilica, in which an amount of the precipitated silica is in a range fromabout 0.1-20% by weight, preferably from about 5-15% by weight, and anamount of the fumed silica is in a range from about 0.1-20% by weight,preferably from about 0.2-5% by weight. In another example, the liquidblend includes fish oil, silica, and an added dietary supplement inwhich the silica comprises about 17% by weight, the added dietarysupplement comprises about 14% by weight, and the fish oil comprisesabout 69% by weight.

In another example, wax alone is used as the thickening agent, and theamount of wax used to thicken the fish oil is in a range from about0.1-30% by weight, preferably from about 5-25% by weight. In anotherexample, the liquid blend includes fish oil, wax, and an added dietarysupplement in which the wax comprises about 25% by weight, the addeddietary supplement comprises about 14% by weight, and the fish oilcomprises about 61% by weight. In another example, a combination ofsilica and wax is used to thicken the fish oil, in which an amount ofthe silica (precipitated, fumed, or a combination of both) is in a rangefrom about 0.5-20% by weight, preferably from about 5-15% by weight, andan amount of the wax is in a range from about 0.1-15% by weight,preferably from about 0.1-5% by weight. In another example, acombination of precipitated silica, fumed silica, and wax is used tothicken the fish oil in which an amount of the precipitated silica is ina range from about 0.1-15% by weight, preferably from about 5-15% byweight, an amount of fumed silica is in a range from about 0.1-15% byweight, preferably from about 0.1-5% by weight, and an amount of the waxis in a range from about 0.1-15%, preferably from about 0.1-5%.

a. Thickening Fish Oil with Silica

Various methods can be used to disperse silica into fish oil to create aviscous liquid blend. A method of thickening fish oil according to oneembodiment comprises mechanically stirring fish oil at any temperatureand adding one or both of precipitated silica and fumed silica in apowdered form to the fish oil while continuing to stir the fish oiluntil a desired viscosity is achieved.

A method of thickening fish oil according to another embodimentcomprises mechanically stirring fish oil at any temperature and addingone or both of precipitated silica and fumed silica in a powdered formto the fish oil while continuing to stir the fish oil until a desiredviscosity is achieved. The fish oil and silica mixture is then cycledthrough a high energy mechanical mixer, such as a Quick Stick ImmersionBlender WSB40 available from Waring Commercial at any cooking supplyhouse, until the desired viscosity is achieved. Optionally, vacuumpressure may be applied to the mixer while the fish oil and silicamixture is cycling through the mixer to minimize oxygen exposure.

A method of thickening fish oil according to still another embodimentcomprises cycling fish oil through a high shear in-line mixer, such as amodel 150L high shear in-line mixer available from Silverson Machines,Inc. of East Longmeadow, Mass., while silica is added (in a powderedform) into the in-line mixer until a desired viscosity is achieved. Thesilica may be introduced into a homogenizer or a line mixer using anysuitable technique, such as by drawing the silica into the mixer usingvacuum pressure by pumping the silica into the mixer, injecting thesilica into the mixer, or by premixing the fish oil and the silica andusing an in-line high shear mixer or homogenizer to mix and combine allof the components to a desired viscosity. Optionally, vacuum pressuremay be applied to the homogenizer while the fish oil and silica mixtureis cycling through the homogenizer to minimize oxygen exposure.

Various amounts of silica can be used to thicken fish oil to a desiredviscosity. Several examples of liquid blends in which silica is used asthe thickening agent are presented below. In one example, about 0.5% byweight of precipitated silica is mixed with fish oil to yield aviscosity of about 90 cP at about 19° C. In another example, about 2% byweight of precipitated silica is mixed with fish oil to yield aviscosity of about 1620 cP at about 19° C. In another example, about 2%by weight of precipitated silica, about 6.25% by weight of glucosamine,about 2.5% by weight of chondroitin, and about 5% of MSM are mixed withfish oil to yield a viscosity of about 1540 cP at about 19° C. Inanother example, about 2% by weight of precipitated silica, about 6.25%by weight of inulin, about 1.25% by weight of Subactil™, and about 1.25%of enzyme are mixed with fish oil to yield a viscosity of about 460 cPat about 19° C. In another example, about 5% by weight of precipitatedsilica is mixed with fish oil by hand using a wisk to yield a viscosityof about 3,740 cP at about 19° C. In another example, about 5% by weightof precipitated silica is mixed with fish oil using a relatively lowenergy mechanical mixer to yield a viscosity of about 4,860 cP at about19° C. In another example, about 5% by weight of precipitated silica ismixed with fish oil using a high energy immersion blender to yield aviscosity of about 9,760 cP at about 19° C.

In another example, 72,575 mg of precipitated silica (e.g., 8% byweight) is mixed into 834,610 mg of fish oil (e.g., 92% by weight) toyield a viscosity of about 114,000 cP at about 19° C. In anotherembodiment, about 9% by weight of precipitated silica and about 0.5% byweight of fumed silica are mixed with fish oil to yield a viscosity ofabout 204,000 cP at about 19° C. In another example, about 10% by weightof precipitated silica and about 1% by weight of fumed silica are mixedwith fish oil to yield a viscosity of about 208,000 cP at about 19° C.In another example, about 12% by weight of precipitated silica and about1% by weight of fumed silica are mixed with fish oil to yield aviscosity similar to that of a stiff grease.

The methods of thickening fish oil described above combine fish oil andsilica such that the silica absorbs the fish oil and thereby increasesits viscosity to help reduce dripping and running, allow added dietarysupplements, if any, to be suspended in the fish oil for a longer periodof time, and enhance dispensing and delivery of the fish oil with orwithout additional dietary supplements suspended therein to animals. Theviscosity of the fish oil can be increased to resemble that of variousviscous liquids such as syrup, hand lotion, tomato ketchup, pudding, ortoothpaste.

b. Thickening Fish Oil with Wax

Various methods can be used to disperse wax into fish oil to create aviscous liquid blend. A method of thickening fish oil with wax accordingto one embodiment comprises heating fish oil to a temperature in a rangefrom about 50-70° C. and mechanically stirring the heated fish oil aswax is added in a solid form. The wax combines with the fish oil as thewax melts in the heated fish oil. After the wax has combined with thefish oil, the wax and fish oil mixture is allowed to cool to an ambienttemperature. The mixture may be allowed to cool to the ambienttemperature naturally over time, or the mixture may be deliberatelycooled, such as by placing the mixture in a refrigerated environment orby using a heat exchanger.

A method of thickening fish oil with wax according to another embodimentcomprises heating and mechanically stirring fish oil to a temperature ina range from about 50-70° C. in a first container and heating andmechanically stirring wax to a temperature in a range from about 50-70°C. in a second container to melt the wax. The heated wax and heated fishoil are then combined and mechanically mixed. After the wax has beencombined with the fish oil, the wax and fish oil mixture is allowed tocool to ambient temperature. As previously described, the mixture may beallowed to cool to ambient temperature naturally over time, or themixture may be deliberately cooled, such as by placing the mixture in arefrigerated environment or by using a heat exchanger.

A method of thickening fish oil with wax according to still anotherembodiment comprises heating wax to a temperature in a range from about50-70° C. to melt the wax and mechanically stirring the heated wax asfish oil is added in a liquid form. After the fish oil has been combinedwith the wax, the wax and fish oil mixture is allowed to cool to ambienttemperature. As previously described, the mixture may be allowed to coolto ambient temperature naturally over time, or the mixture may bedeliberately cooled, such as by placing the mixture in a refrigeratedenvironment or by using a heat exchanger.

A method of thickening fish oil with wax according to still anotherembodiment comprises using wax and fish oil that have been combined andcooled as described in one of the methods above and mechanicallyinducing high shear mixing of the wax and fish oil with or withoutdietary additives to achieve a creamy well mixed liquid form. After themixture has been high shear mixed, the resulting friction from highshear mixing heats the mixture above ambient temperature. The mixture isallowed to cool to ambient temperature. As previously described, themixture may be allowed to cool to ambient temperature naturally overtime, or the mixture may be deliberately cooled, such as by placing themixture in a refrigerated environment or by using a heat exchanger.

A method of thickening fish oil with wax according to still a furtherembodiment comprises using wax and fish oil at ambient temperature andmechanically stirring the wax and fish oil in a high shear in-line mixerto achieve a liquid form. After the fish oil has been combined with thewax, the resulting friction from high shear mixing heats the oil and waxmixture. The wax and fish oil mixture is allowed to cool to ambienttemperature. As previously described, the mixture may be allowed to coolto ambient temperature naturally over time, or the mixture may bedeliberately cooled, such as by placing the mixture in a refrigeratedenvironment or by using a heat exchanger.

Various amounts of wax can be used to thicken fish oil to a desiredviscosity and to brighten the fish oil to a desired color. Severalexamples of liquid blends in which wax is used as the thickening agentare presented below. In one example, about 25% by weight of wax is mixedwith fish oil to yield a viscosity of about 12,300 cP at about 21° C. Inanother example, about 1% by weight of wax, about 9% by weight ofprecipitated silica, and about 0.5% by weight of fumed silica are mixedwith fish oil to yield a viscosity of about 160,000 cP at about 19° C.In another example, about 1% by weight of wax, about 10% by weight ofprecipitated silica, and about 1% by weight of fumed silica are mixedwith fish oil to yield a viscosity of about 190,000 cP at about 19° C.In another example, about 1% by weight of wax, about 12% by weight ofprecipitated silica, and about 1% by weight of fumed silica are mixedwith fish oil to yield a viscosity similar to that of a stiff grease.

The methods of thickening fish oil described above combine wax (or waxand silica) with fish oil such that the viscosity of the mixtureincreases as the mixture cools to ambient temperature. The liquid blendof fish oil and wax may help to reduce the strong fishy odor of the fishoil human beings find offensive and oxidation (when the wax combineswith and surrounds the fish oil), helps reduce dripping and running,allows added dietary supplements, if any, to be suspended in the fishoil for a longer period of time, and enhances dispensing and delivery ofthe fish oil with or without additional dietary supplements suspendedtherein to animals. The wax also lightens the color of the liquid blendand may inhibit the fish oil and thickening agent from separating overtime. The viscosity of the fish oil can be increased to resemble that ofvarious viscous liquids such as syrup, hand lotion, tomato ketchup,pudding, or toothpaste.

According to a preferred embodiment, the viscosity of the thickened fishoil is selected so that added dietary supplements can be suspended inthe thickened fish oil without settling to a bottom of a container forabout 180 days. In comparison, added dietary supplements suspended inunthickened fish oil will typically settle out completely in twenty-fourhours.

The thickened fish oil mixture may be dispensed using any suitabledelivery system. For example, FIGS. 6-9 depict a delivery system 600comprising a container 610 for holding thickened fish oil 620(silica-thickened salmon fish oil in FIGS. 6 and 7) or 820(wax-thickened salmon fish oil in FIGS. 8 and 9), which may have one ormore added dietary supplements suspended therein, and afluid-displacement dispenser 630 coupled to container 610 for dispensingthickened fish oil 620 or 820 after the application of a pumping forceto fluid-displacement dispenser 630. Container 610 may comprise anysuitable material, such as plastic or glass. Fluid-displacementdispenser 630 may comprise a fluid inlet 631 disposed within container610 and configured to draw thickened fish oil 620 or 820 intofluid-displacement dispenser 630, a fluid outlet 640 disposed outside ofcontainer 610 and configured to dispense thickened fish oil 620 or 820,and an axially displaceable pump 650 configured to transport a portionof thickened fish oil 620 or 820 from within container 610 via the fluidinlet to a position outside of container 610 via fluid outlet 640 aftera pumping force F is applied to axially displaceable pump 650. Becausedelivery system 600 contains thickened fish oil 620 or 820, an addeddietary supplement will remain suspended in thickened fish oil 620 or820 and there is no need to shake container 610 or otherwise remix thefish oil and added dietary supplement mixture before dispensing thesame. Thus, delivery system 600 and thickened fish oil 620 or 820 helpdispense more accurate doses of added dietary supplements (e.g., byfully depressing axially displaceable pump 650 a certain number oftimes).

By way of another example, a delivery system comprises a containerhaving at least one flexible sidewall and a fluid-displacement dispensercoupled to the container for dispensing thickened fish oil and possiblyone or more added dietary supplements. The fluid-displacement dispensercomprises the flexible sidewall of the container and a nozzle in fluidcommunication with the container, and is configured to dispense aportion of the thickened fish oil from the container in response to asqueezing force radially applied to the flexible sidewall. The flexibleside may comprise the vertical section of the container or any portionthereof. For example, the container could be made of flexible materialso that the container can be squeezed to dispense the thickened fish oiland added dietary supplements, if any. By way of another example, thecontainer may include a flexible portion that dispenses the thickenedfish oil after being depressed.

The liquid blend of fish oil and the thickening agent may be dispensedon an edible item, such as an animal's food (e.g., kibble) or a dogtreat, so that the animal ingests an appreciable amount of the liquidblend when the animal eats the edible item. The liquid blend may serveas a pallet enhancer to entice the animal to eat the edible item.Because the liquid blend is thickened, it forms a viscous dietarycovering that stays on the edible item instead of running off the edibleitem and to the bottom of the animal's food container. For example, theliquid blend may function as a dietary gravy or sauce for kibble.Alternatively, the liquid blend may be given to an animal withoutdispensing the liquid blend on an edible item.

As should be apparent from the description above, thickening fish oilhelps reduce mess and leaking of fish oil due to shaking the containerbefore each delivery, helps minimize undesirable dripping and running offish oil, helps keep added dietary supplements suspended in the fishoil, helps to control the amount of liquid blend given to an animal,helps deliver a more accurate dose of added dietary supplements, helpsreduce the offensive fish odor to human beings, helps reduce oxidationand increase freshness of the fish oil, and allows a wider variety ofdispensing devices to be used that are more convenient for customer use,all of which helps increase customer acceptance of the thickened fishoil.

Specific examples of various liquid blend preparations are presentedbelow. Table 3 specifies suitable amounts (by percentage) of silica,various added dietary supplements, and fish oil according to examples ofvarious silica-thickened oil, joint health (JH), and digestive health(DH) preparations.

TABLE 3 2% 4% 8% JH-2 JH-4 JH-8 DH-2 DH-4 DH-8 Sipernat ® 2.00 4.00 8.002.00 4.00 8.00 2.00 4.00 8.00 22LS Inulin 6.25 6.25 6.25 Subactil ™ 1.251.25 1.25 Enzyme 1.25 1.25 1.25 Glucosamine 6.25 6.25 6.25 Chondroitin2.50 2.50 2.50 MSM 5.00 5.00 5.00 Total 2.00 4.00 8.00 15.75 17.75 21.7510.75 12.75 16.75 Salmon Oil 98.00 96.00 92.00 84.25 82.25 78.25 89.2587.25 83.25

The foregoing shall be further illustrated with regard to the followingnon-limiting examples. Examples 2-5 are based on a 32 oz (or 907,185 mg)sample preparation.

Example 2

A blender was used to mix about 834,610 mg of salmon fish oil and about72,575 mg of a silica thickening agent, Sipernat® 22LS. The salmon oilwas prepared by Trident Seafoods in a commercial fish oil recoverysystem. The silica thickening agent was in a dry powdered form. The fishoil and silica thickening agent were blended for about 5 minutes at ahigh-speed setting of the blender to yield thickened fish oil having aviscosity of similar to that of liquid hand soap (e.g., about 114,000 cPat about 19° C.). The viscosity was measured using a Brookfieldviscometer model RV-1 DV-I Prime, with a #03 spindle at 5 rpm. Themeasured percentage torque on the viscometer was 51.6%. The resultingthickened fish oil was placed in delivery system (e.g., delivery system600 of FIGS. 6 and 7) and dispensed onto a flat plate. The thickenedfish oil was not runny and did not drip from the fluid outlet afterbeing dispensed.

Two iterations of applying pumping force to a pump dispenser deliveringabout 2 ml for each pump iteration dispersed about 4 ml (0.8815 tsp) ofthe silica-thickened salmon fish oil onto a flat plate, as shown inFIGS. 6 and 7, for testing to determine whether a group of twentycanines would consume the silica-thickened fish oil mixture. Thesilica-thickened salmon fish oil mixture was prepared as described inExample 2 and used the same day. The group of twenty canines comprised arandom sampling of canines from a local pound and thus included caninesof various breeds, ages, sex, and weights. All twenty canines completelyconsumed the silica-thickened fish oil mixture.

Example 3

A Waring Blender was used to mix about 625,958 mg of salmon fish oil,about 156,489 mg of a silica thickening agent, Sipernat® 22LS, about56,699 mg of glucosamine, about 11,340 mg of chondroitin, and about56,699 mg of MSM. The salmon fish oil was prepared from salmon asdescribed in Example 2. The silica thickening agent and the addeddietary supplements were in a dry powdered form. The fish oil, silicathickening agent, and added dietary supplements were blended for about 2minutes at the high speed setting of the blender to yield a homogeneousthickened fish oil with the added dietary supplements suspended thereinand having a consistency similar to that of a thick grease. The mixturewas too thick to test using a Brookfield viscometer model RV-1 DV-IPrime.

Example 4

A laboratory stove was used to heat about 680,389 mg of salmon fish oilto a temperature of about 50° C. The salmon fish oil was prepared fromsalmon as described in Example 2. About 226,796 mg of a soy waxthickening agent (from Calwax, LLC) was added to the heated fish oil tomelt the wax so that the melted wax combined with the fish oil as themixture was stirred. After the wax was combined with the fish oil, thewax and fish oil mixture was allowed to cool to a temperature of about21° C. in a refrigerator. The cooled fish oil and wax mixture had aviscosity of about 12,300 cP. The viscosity was measured using aBrookfield viscometer model RV-1 DV-I Prime, with a #03 spindleoperating at 5 rpm. The measured percentage torque of the viscometer wasabout 58%. There was no apparent settling after the mixture remained atrest for about 120 hours. If settling occurs after about 120 hours, theviscosity may be increased (e.g., by adding more thickening agent) toinhibit settling. The resulting thickened fish oil was placed in adelivery system (e.g., delivery system 600 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9) anddispensed onto a flat plate. The thickened fish oil had a creamytexture, was not runny, and did not drip from a fluid outlet of thedelivery system after being dispensed.

Two iterations of applying pumping force to a pump dispenser deliveringabout 2 ml forced pump iteration dispensed about 4 ml (0.8815 tsp) of asoy wax-thickened salmon fish oil mixture onto a flat plate, as shown inFIGS. 8 and 9, for testing to determine whether a group of twentycanines would consume the soy wax-thickened fish oil mixture. The soywax-thickened salmon fish oil mixture was prepared a few hoursbeforehand as described in Example 4. The group of twenty caninescomprised a random sampling of canines from a local pound and thusincluded canines of various breeds, ages, sex, and weights. All twentycanines completely consumed the soy wax thickened fish oil mixture.

Example 5

A laboratory stove was used to heat about 680,389 mg of salmon fish oilto a temperature of about 50° C. in a first container and heat about226,796 mg of a soy wax thickening agent (from Calwax, LLC) to atemperature of about 50° C. in a second container to melt the wax. Thesalmon fish oil was prepared from salmon as described in Example 2. Theheated fish oil and heated wax were then combined and mechanicallymixed. After the wax and fish oil were combined, the wax and fish oilmixture was allowed to cool to a temperature of about 21° C. in arefrigerator. The cooled fish oil and wax mixture had a viscosity ofabout 6,700 cP. The viscosity was measured using a Brookfield viscometermodel RV-1 DV-I Prime, with a #03 spindle operating at 5 rpm. Themeasured percentage torque of the viscometer was about 30%. The wateractivity (a_(w)) of the wax and fish oil mixture was about 0.528 at atemperature of about 21.9° C. The water activity (a_(w)) was testedusing a Aqualab series 3TE system available from Decagon Devices, Inc.of Pullman, Wash. There was no apparent settling after the mixtureremained at rest for about 120 hours. The resulting thickened fish oilhad a creamy texture, was not runny, and did not drip from a fluidoutlet of the delivery system after being dispensed.

In Examples 6-11 below, the corresponding materials were mixed using amodel k45SS mixer available from KitchenAid® of Saint Joseph, Mich. Thematerials were mixed for about 2.5 minutes using a number 2 speedsetting and a wire wisk attachment, the sides of the mixing bowl werescraped, then the materials were mixed again for about 2.5 minutes usingthe number 2 speed setting.

Example 6

About 12% by weight of Sipernat® 22LS (precipitated silica), about 1% byweight of Aerosil® 200 (fumed silica), and about 1% by weight of heated(about 54-60° C.) Calsoy brand soy wax were mixed with salmon oil. Themixture cooled to ambient temperature (e.g., about 19° C.) and had aviscosity similar to that of a stiff grease. The mixture was too thickto test using a Brookfield viscometer model RV-1 DV-I Prime.

Example 7

About 10% by weight of Sipernat® 22LS (precipitated silica), about 1% byweight of Aerosil® 200 (fumed silica), and about 1% by weight of heated(about 54-60° C.) Calsoy brand soy wax were mixed with salmon oil. Themixture cooled to about 19° C. and had a viscosity of about 190,000 cP.The viscosity was measured using a Brookfield viscometer model RV-1 DV-IPrime, with a #06 spindle operating at 2.5 rpm for 2 minutes. Themeasured percentage torque on the viscometer was about 49.1%. Themixture had the consistency of a thick pumpable lotion.

Example 8

About 9% by weight of Sipernat® 22LS (precipitated silica), about 0.5%by weight of Aerosil® 200 (fumed silica), and about 1% by weight ofheated (about 54-60° C.) Calsoy brand soy wax were mixed with salmonoil. The mixture cooled to about 19° C.) and had a viscosity of about160,000 cP. The viscosity was measured using a Brookfield viscometermodel RV-1 DV-I Prime, with a #06 spindle operating at 2.5 rpm for 2minutes. The measured percentage torque on the viscometer was about42.2%. The mixture had the consistency of a moderately thick pumpablelotion.

Example 9

About 12% by weight of Sipernat® 22LS (precipitated silica) and about 1%by weight of Aerosil® 200 (fumed silica) were mixed with salmon oil. Atabout 19° C., the mixture had a viscosity similar to that of a stiffgrease. The mixture was too thick to test using a Brookfield viscometermodel RV-1 DV-I Prime.

Example 10

About 10% by weight of Sipernat® 22LS (precipitated silica) and about 1%by weight of Aerosil® 200 (fumed silica) were mixed with salmon oil. Atabout 19° C., the mixture had a viscosity of about 208,000 cP. Theviscosity was measured using a Brookfield viscometer model RV-1 DV-IPrime, with a #06 spindle operating at 2.5 rpm for 2 minutes. Themeasured percentage torque on the viscometer was about 50.9%. Themixture had the consistency of a thick pumpable lotion.

Example 11

About 9% by weight of Sipernat® 22LS (precipitated silica) and about0.5% by weight of Aerosil® 200 (fumed silica) were mixed with salmonoil. At about 19° C., the mixture had a viscosity of about 204,000 cP.The viscosity was measured using a Brookfield viscometer model RV-1 DV-IPrime, with a #06 spindle operating at 2.5 rpm for 2 minutes. Themeasured percentage torque on the viscometer was about 53%. The mixturehad the consistency of a thick pumpable lotion.

While embodiments disclosed herein have been discussed with reference toanimals, such as canines, the embodiments disclosed herein are equallyapplicable to promoting the health or wellness (e.g., by deliveringhealth improving dietary supplements, such as glucosamine, chondroitin,MSM, probiotics, prebiotics, enzymes, digestive enzymes, minerals,vitamins, medications, or other dietary supplements) for a variety ofanimals, including by not limited to non-human primates, other companionanimals (e.g., felines, horses, small mammals, reptiles), food animals,laboratory animals, birds, and wild animals.

III. Flavored/Scented Fish Oil

Because fish oil contains nutrients such as omega 3 fatty acids (e.g.,EPA and DHA), companion animals consuming fish oil can derive a numberof health benefits. However, different companion animals such as dogs,cats, horses, small mammals, birds, and reptiles respond to tastes andsmells when choosing food to consume and may be deterred from consumingfish oil due to its inherent fishy scent and flavor. Moreover, becauseof the offensive odor of fish oil, pet owners may be reluctant topurchase fish oil for their pets regardless of its health benefits.

Conventional systems and methods to deodorize fish oil are relativelycomplex and time consuming. Conventional systems typically alter fishoil from its natural state to rid fish oil of its scent. For example,the fish oil is filtered and heated, and in some cases chemicals andsolvents are used to remove the odor from fish oil.

Disclosed herein is a process for combining an additive to fish oil toenhance an animal's willingness to consume and ingest it. The additivemay be a flavoring, a scent, or, preferably, a combination of both andis referred to herein as a scented flavoring. The scented flavoringchanges either one or both of the taste and scent of the fish oil sothat an animal will be likely to consume the fish oil more readily,perhaps on a day-to-day feeding program. In one example, the scentedflavoring is added so that an omnivorous grazing animal such as a horsewill not be deterred from consuming the fish oil due to its taste andscent but will regularly consume the fish oil and reap its healthbenefits. By masking the odor of fish oil with the scented flavoring,pet owners will experience a pleasant scent instead of a fishy one whengiving their pets fish oil. Moreover, unlike conventional deodorizationmethods and systems in which fish oil is altered, the disclosed processleaves the fish oil in a natural and an unadulterated state. The fishoil may be flavored and scented with or without either one or both ofadded dietary supplements and thickening agents as described above.

Examples of scented flavorings that may be used include either or bothof berry-based flavorings and scents such as cranberry, blueberry,blackberry, boysenberry, raspberry, and strawberry; either or both offruit flavorings and scents such as cherry, pear, plum, prune, apple,apricot, peach, banana, and orange; either or both of plant-basedflavorings and scents such as mint, peppermint, spearmint, maple, andanise; and either or both of meat-based flavorings and scents such asbeef, chicken, liver, and pork. In one example, a flavoring agentavailable from BFI Innovations, Inc. of Elgin, Ill. is used. Table 4below includes examples of suitable types and amounts of scentedflavorings available from BFI Innovations, Inc. that may be mixed withabout 907 kilograms (kgs) (about 2,000 pounds) of fish oil to make thefish oil more palatable for animals.

TABLE 4 Scented Flavoring Amount Liquid Grilled Chicken Flavor, ProductNo. about 0.53-1.81 kgs 03352 Liquid Berry Flavor OM, Product No. 02042about 0.23-0.91 kg Liquid Natural Peppermint Flavor, Product No. about0.53-1.81 kgs 16136 Liquid Banana-ADE OM Flavor, Product No. about0.53-1.81 kgs 002034 Liquid Cherry-ADE OM Flavor, Product No. 03066about 0.53-1.81 kgs Liquid ANI-MOL-ADE OS Flavor, Product No. about0.53-1.36 kgs 01167Many types of scented flavorings other than those listed in Table 4 canbe used to mask the taste and scent of fish oil to enhance an animal'swillingness to consume it. Preferably, the scented flavoring is ineither powdered or liquid form prior to being mixed with the fish oil.Moreover, the scented flavoring is oil soluble so it can readily mixwith the fish oil. Natural flavoring extracts, artificial flavoringextracts, or a combination of both can be used in the scented flavoring.

The scented flavoring is added to the fish oil and mixed by hand or byusing a mixing machine (e.g., a blender) for about 3-5 minutes to evenlydistribute the scented flavoring throughout the fish oil. The fish oiland the scented flavoring tend to mix readily together into a homogenousmixture. When either or both of additional dietary supplements andthickening agents are added to the fish oil, the scented flavoring canbe added before, during, or after the additional dietary supplements andthickening agents are added to the fish oil. Preferably, the scentedflavoring and the fish oil are at room temperature when combined—noheating or cooling is required. Combining the scented flavoring and fishoil together is similar to the process of mixing vegetable oil and aplant based scent such as garlic oil.

It will be obvious to skilled persons that many changes may be made tothe details of the above-described embodiments without departing fromthe underlying principles of the invention. The scope of the presentinvention should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.

1. A liquid dietary supplement that is suitable for ingestion by animals, comprising: a viscous liquid blend of a carrier liquid and an amount thickening agent dispersed in the carrier liquid; the carrier liquid including fish oil and functioning as a delivery medium of nutrients naturally present in the fish oil, the carrier liquid characterized by a carrier liquid viscosity at ambient temperature; and the thickening agent imparting to the carrier liquid a viscosity that is greater than the carrier liquid viscosity at ambient temperature, and the thickening agent being inert to an animal ingesting the liquid dietary supplement and chemically inert to the fish oil so that, when the thickening agent is dispersed in the fish oil, the naturally present nutrients are not substantially degraded by the thickening agent.
 2. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 1, in which the carrier liquid includes an added dietary supplement suspended therein and functions as a delivery medium of the added dietary supplement, the thickening agent being chemically inert to the added dietary supplement, the viscous liquid blend being held in a container having a bottom, and the thickening agent inhibiting the added dietary supplement from settling to the bottom of the container.
 3. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 1, in which the amount of thickening agent is in a range from about 0.5% to about 30% by weight of the viscous liquid blend.
 4. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 1, in which the thickening agent includes silica.
 5. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 4, in which the silica is in a range from about 0.5% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend.
 6. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 1, in which the thickening agent includes precipitated silica.
 7. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 6, in which the precipitated silica is in a range from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend.
 8. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 6, in which the precipitated silica is an amorphous hydrophilic silica.
 9. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 1, in which the thickening agent includes fumed silica.
 10. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 9, in which the fumed silica is in a range from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend.
 11. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 1, in which the thickening agent includes a combination of precipitated silica and fumed silica.
 12. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 11, in which the precipitated silica is in a range from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend and the fumed silica is in a range from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend.
 13. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 1, in which the thickening agent includes a wax.
 14. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 13, in which the wax is in a range from about 0.1% to about 30% by weight of the viscous liquid blend.
 15. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 13, in which the carrier liquid is characterized by a relatively dark brown color and the wax functions to lighten the color of the carrier liquid to a lighter shade.
 16. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 1, in which the thickening agent includes a combination of silica and wax.
 17. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 16, in which the silica ranges from about 0.5% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend and the wax ranges from about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of the viscous liquid blend.
 18. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 1, in which the thickening agent includes a combination of precipitated silica, fumed silica, and wax.
 19. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 18, in which the precipitated silica is in a range from about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of the viscous liquid blend, the fumed silica is in a range from about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of the viscous liquid blend, and the wax is in a range from about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of the viscous liquid blend.
 20. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 1, in which the viscous liquid blend includes a flavoring additive to enhance palatability of the viscous liquid blend.
 21. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 1, in which the viscous liquid blend includes a scent additive to mask a natural scent of the fish oil.
 22. The liquid dietary supplement of claim 1, in which the viscosity of the carrier liquid imparted by the thickening agent is in a range from about 90 cP to about 250,000 cP when the viscous liquid blend is at ambient temperature.
 23. A method of delivering a liquid dietary supplement to an animal, comprising: providing a viscous liquid blend of a carrier liquid and an amount thickening agent dispersed in the carrier liquid, the carrier liquid including fish oil and functioning as a delivery medium of nutrients naturally present in the fish oil, the carrier liquid characterized by a carrier liquid viscosity at ambient temperature, the thickening agent imparting to the carrier liquid a viscosity that is greater than the carrier liquid viscosity at ambient temperature, and the thickening agent being inert to an animal ingesting the viscous liquid blend and chemically inert to the fish oil so that, when the thickening agent is dispersed in the fish oil, the naturally present nutrients are not substantially degraded by the thickening agent; providing an edible item to be ingested by the animal; and applying the viscous liquid blend to the edible item, the viscous liquid blend forming for the edible item a viscous dietary covering that stays on the edible item to thereby allow an appreciable amount of the viscous liquid blend to be ingested by the animal.
 24. The method of claim 23, in which the viscous liquid blend includes an added dietary supplement suspended throughout the viscous liquid blend to thereby enable accurate dosing of the added dietary supplement to the animal.
 25. The method of claim 23, in which the viscous liquid blend is held in a container and is applied to the edible item by pumping with a fluid displacement dispenser the viscous liquid blend out of the container and on the edible item.
 26. The method of claim 23, in which the amount of thickening agent is in a range from about 0.5% to about 30% by weight of the viscous liquid blend.
 27. A method of improving dispensability of a liquid dietary supplement that is suitable for ingestion by animals, comprising: providing a carrier liquid including fish oil and functioning as a delivery medium of nutrients naturally present in the fish oil, the carrier liquid characterized by a carrier liquid viscosity at ambient temperature; and mixing a thickening agent with the carrier liquid to form a viscous liquid blend of the carrier liquid and the thickening agent, the thickening agent including silica in powdered form that absorbs the carrier liquid and imparts to the carrier liquid a viscosity that is greater than the carrier liquid viscosity at ambient temperature, the thickening agent being inert to an animal ingesting the viscous liquid blend and chemically inert to the fish oil so that, when the thickening agent is mixed with the fish oil, the naturally present nutrients are not substantially degraded by the thickening agent, the viscous liquid blend being held in a container, and the thickening agent enabling a user to dispense a controlled amount of the viscous liquid blend from the container.
 28. The method of claim 27, in which the viscous liquid blend includes an added dietary supplement suspended throughout the viscous liquid blend to thereby enable accurate dosing of the added dietary supplement to the animal.
 29. The method of claim 27, in which the thickening agent includes a wax that is in liquid form when mixed with the carrier liquid.
 30. The method of claim 29, in which the silica in the viscous liquid blend ranges from about 0.5% to about 20% by weight of the viscous liquid blend and the wax in the viscous liquid blend ranges from about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of the viscous liquid blend. 